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This study investigates the determinants of paternal investment by birth fathers and stepfathers. Inclusive fitness theory predicts higher parental investment in birth children than stepchildren, and this has consistently been found in previous studies. Here we investigate whether paternal investment varies with childhood co-residence duration and differs between stepfathers and divorced birth fathers by comparing the investment of (1) stepfathers, (2) birth fathers who are separated from the child's mother, and (3) birth fathers who still are in a relationship with her. Path analysis was conducted using cross-sectional data from adolescents and younger adults (aged 17–19, 27–29, and 37–39 years) from the German Family Panel (pairfam), collected in 2010–2011 (n = 8326). As proxies of paternal investment, we used financial and practical help, emotional support, intimacy, and emotional closeness, as reported by the children. We found that birth fathers who were still in a relationship with the mother invested the most, and stepfathers invested the least. Furthermore, the investment of both separated fathers and stepfathers increased with the duration of co-residence with the child. However, in the case of financial help and intimacy, the effect of childhood co-residence duration was stronger in stepfathers than in separated fathers. Our findings support inclusive fitness theory and mating effort theory in explaining social behavior and family dynamics in this population. Furthermore, social environment, such as childhood co-residence was associated with paternal investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As fatherhood education programs become more common and as the United States becomes increasingly diverse, efforts are needed to ensure that programs reach underrepresented groups. Using a mixed-method evaluation approach, this study examined the programmatic impacts and experiences of Latino fathers (n = 156) who participated in fatherhood education programs. Quantitative analyses indicated that participants showed improvements in father-child relations, decreases in partner conflict, and more positive perceptions of employability from pretest to posttest. Qualitative analyses revealed that the programs were largely positively received, with participants reporting greater knowledge of several targeted concepts. Overall, findings suggest that Latino fathers derive perceived benefits from participation in fatherhood education programs. Practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike the mother-daughter bond, the father-daughter relationship has received little attention in eating disorders (ED). This study with clinical-qualitative method aimed to understand how parents of young people with ED experienced the bonds with their parental figures during childhood/adolescence and, later, with their wives and daughters. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five parents whose daughters were in treatment. The results were analyzed using the Clinical-Qualitative Content Analysis and the Psychoanalysis of Linking Configurations. The fatherdaughter relationship was marked by affective closeness in childhood, although with little involvement in caregiving tasks. The affective distancing, starting in the daughter's pubertal period, contributed to weaken the paternal bond. The results provide subsidies for the inclusion of fathers in the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quality father-child relationship is important for the child’s social and emotional development, which may affect one’s self-efficacy in the future. Research showed that fatherhood attitudes change over time. In the current study, individuals in generations X, Y and Z evaluated their relationships with their fathers retrospectively and their own general self-efficacy and it was examined whether participants’ perceived fatherhood attitudes and general self-efficacy levels varied according to their gender and generation they were in. The study data were obtained through survey from 516 participants aged 18-58 living in Türkiye. Participants between the ages of 18–23 were considered as generation Z, 24-43 as generation Y and 44-58 as generation X. The data was collected between April 2023 and May 2023 through scales in an online survey platform. According to the results of MANOVA analyses, perceived fathers’ negative emotional approach and father communication attitude differed between generations. Accordingly, perceived fathers’ negative emotional approach of generation Z was significantly higher than the score of generation X. On the other hand, the perceived father’s communication attitude score of generation Z was significantly lower than the scores of generation X and generation Y. In addition, perceived fatherhood sub-dimensions did not differ by gender. As for self-efficacy, some dimensions of self-efficacy perceptions of generation Z were also found to be lower than generations X and Y. Resistance dimension of self-efficacy was also found to differ by gender. Accordingly, men’s resistance scores were significantly higher than women’s scores. The results of the study were discussed by considering the general characteristics of the generations and evaluating gender roles. In addition, the possible limitations of the participants' retrospective assessment of their relationship with their fathers were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious problem that has been increasingly examined during the last four decades. In the case of severe IPV, children are placed with their mothers in shelters for women survivors of domestic violence (SDV). The current study aimed to understand young children's descriptions of relating with their fathers during their stay in SDVs. Interviews were conducted with 32 Israeli children, aged 7 to 12 years. Two main themes and five subthemes were identified through thematic analysis: (1) Atypical visiting arrangements (subthemes: a lack of understanding about the meaning of supervised visitations, inconsistent and unstable visitations); (2) ambivalent attitudes towards the visiting arrangements (subthemes: enjoying fathers' attention and shared family time, worry and guilt following the visitations, controversial messages from fathers). The findings demonstrate the children's subjective views and emphasize the benefit of gathering qualitative data from young children in the context of exposure to IPV. Findings are discussed in light of the cognitive dissonance reduction theory. Limitations of the study are discussed, along with implications for practice, theory and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationships established in the family, such as the father-child activation relationship, interfere in the child's behavior. To understand the relationships between father-child activation, family functioning and child behavior, a study was conducted with 12 two-parent hetero-affective families with preschool children. It was used: Sociodemographic Questionnaire; Risk Situation; Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales; and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. It was found that: eight children were classified as activated, three as under-activated and one as overactivated; the functioning of families is balanced and/or rigidly cohesive; and in the child's behavior it was verified high prosocial behavior and low scores in difficulties. Besides the activation relationship, family functioning was fundamental to understand the child's behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child's crying is the stimuli serving the development of a child–parent relationship through evoking child-oriented and parent-oriented parental reactions. Individual differences in parental reactions to crying have been partly explained by parental and child's temperament. We conducted two studies to verify the predicting effects of temperamental emotionality of parents and children on mothers' (Study 1 and 2) and fathers' (Study 2) self-reported emotional reactions to own child crying. In the Study 1 (N = 108), maternal ratings of the child's global level of emotional reactivity and regulation partially mediated the relationship between mother's emotional reactivity and parent-oriented reactions to the child crying. This result was confirmed in the Study 2 (N = 270) with maternal general negative affect and child's negative emotionality as predictors. Additionally, in the Study 2, child's temperamental negative emotionality fully mediated the relationship between the father's negative affect and parent-oriented emotional reactions to the child's crying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies on parenting children with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities have focused on stress and coping; however, research has shown many rewards in parenting such children. Additionally, most research has assessed mothers' rather than fathers' perspectives. To take steps toward filling these literature gaps, we asked fathers of children with Down syndrome about their parenting experiences. Participants were 175 fathers of children with Down syndrome. Open-ended questions asked fathers what they found most rewarding and challenging about parenting a child with Down syndrome. Researchers coded responses using inductive content analysis. Key themes for rewards included: (1) Child's Positive Attributes and Behaviors; (2) Rewarding Father-Child Relationship; (3) Child Has Positively Changed Father; and (4) Father's Positive Relationship with Others. Key themes for challenges included: (1) Father's Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors; (2) Child's Challenging Behavior and Development; (3) System and Institutional Problems; and (4) Other People's Negative Attitudes/Behaviors. Rewards mainly concerned the father–child bond and the loving, happy child. Fathers rarely mentioned financial stressors or their children's negative behaviors. Instead, many fathers reported children's speech problems. Our findings may assist healthcare professionals in providing more beneficial resources and interventions (especially language-related ones) to families with a child with Down syndrome. Consistent with a positive psychology approach, fathers reported more rewards than challenges in raising a child with Down syndrome. There may be a need for greater involvement of fathers in language interventions for children with Down syndrome. Healthcare professionals can assist parents of children with Down syndrome in recognizing parenting rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The breastfeeding intention–behaviour gap remains wide in developed countries. Current studies have focused on maternal attitudes and behaviours concerning infant feeding in order to explore barriers to breastfeeding continuation. There has been limited consideration of the impact of paternal attitudes and behaviours, despite contemporary parenthood evolving and evidence indicating that there are greater levels of paternal involvement in routine childcare tasks. This mixed‐methods study used a triangulation design to examine the associations between paternal attitudes towards parenthood and infant‐feeding methods, levels of paternal involvement, infant‐feeding outcomes, and father–infant relationships. Fathers of infants <52 weeks completed an online survey providing quantitative data (N = 212) and qualitative data (N = 208). For the quantitative data, fathers completed validated measures about their attitude towards parenthood and infant feeding, levels of paternal involvement, and infant‐feeding history. For the qualitative data, questions explored influences on paternal attitudes towards infant feeding and the father–infant relationship. After controlling for covariates, regression analyses found egalitarian attitudes towards parenthood were positively associated with both attitudes towards breastfeeding and levels of paternal involvement. Positive paternal attitudes towards breastfeeding were significantly associated with increased likelihood of breastfeeding. A thematic framework analysis indicated fathers' attitudes towards infant feeding were largely influenced by their families and partners or healthcare professionals. Polarised views were expressed about the impact infant‐feeding methods had on the father–infant relationship, although fathers were united in their desire to bond with their infant. Addressing paternal attitudes and the importance of father–infant involvement in domains other than feeding maybe beneficial in supporting breastfeeding and the father–infant relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a mixed-methods approach, this study examined the outcomes and experiences of incarcerated minority fathers (N = 713) who participated in InsideOut Dad, a widely used, corrections-based fatherhood education program. Quantitative analyses indicated decreases in partner conflict among participants and more positive perceptions of subjective well-being. Qualitative analyses revealed that the program was positively received, with participants noting the skills they developed. As a result of fatherhood education, incarcerated minority fathers reported being empowered and more confident in their roles as fathers and that they learned needed skills to be responsible and responsive fathers. Such findings may inform facilitators of corrections-based parenting programs on best practices for serving incarcerated fathers from historically underserved groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent–child interactions are critical for a child's overall wellbeing and growth, however there are differences in the types of interactions that mothers and fathers engage in. For example, fathers often utilize physical play, such as Rough-and-Tumble Play (RTP), to interact and bond with their child. Father-child RTP appears to contribute to a range of child outcomes, including social, emotional cognitive and behaviour development. Given the now robust evidence for these benefits of father–child play and RTP specifically, there is a need for a more complete understanding of the factors that contribute to the quality of fathers' RTP. This study examined the association between quality of father–toddler RTP and a range of paternal characteristics, parenting factors, child demographics and child developmental domains. The study included 64 sets of parents (mothers and fathers) and their toddler (age 18–24 months). Parent-reported questionnaires (demographic information, frequency of father–toddler RTP, father parenting stress, and child social-emotional development) were collected, observations of child developmental attainment (Bayley-III) completed and father–toddler RTP play interactions were rated for quality. We found that RTP for fathers who engaged in more father–toddler RTP, whose children were older and more socially-emotionally mature, was rated as higher quality in their RTP. By demonstrating links of RTP quality with both parenting behaviour and child development, this study contributes to a more complete understanding of the nature and context of father–child interactions. Father–child physical play, including RTP, may present an opportunity for professionals to bring fathers into their work with families. Highlights: When fathers engage in physical play with their children, it is generally more stimulating, vigorous and arousing for the child than mothers' play. The frequency of rough and tumble play is closely related to the quality of the play The quality of rough and tumble play is linked to children's age and social-emotional maturity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family relationships seem to have relevant contribution to the etiopathogenesis of Eating Disorders (EDs). This study aimed to analyze the scientific production about the paternity and parenting experiences of fathers whose daughters developed EDs. The literature review was conducted through the databases LILACS, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and EMBASE, in the period from 1999 to 2019. From the 878 retrieved papers, 23 were selected for the analysis. The results show that paternity and parenting experiences are influenced by father's personality traits. The dominant representation is of an affectionless and not empathetic father, as well as punitive and insensitive to the daughter's emotional needs. Knowing the paternal experiences is central to subside sensible care to both, daughters' and fathers' demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To know how the phenomenon of active paternal upbringing is shown from the father-child contact experience during birth. Method: Analysis of secondary information from a qualitative study of a phenomenological nature. Transcripts of interviews and focus groups of all the fathers who participated in a father-child contact protocol for a doctoral thesis. Results: The study revealed the global structure of the phenomenon, whose central axis corresponds to "father who advances towards the integral connection with his child and is committed with parenting", and its three comprehensive categories: expectations of being a father and actor in parenting; the experience of being a father at birth time; and the everyday of the upbringing. Conclusion: Prenatal preparation and skin-to-skin contact during birth mobilize the father towards commitment and involvement with the upbringing of his child from the beginning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paternity leave-taking is believed to benefit children by encouraging father-child bonding after a birth and enabling commitments to fathers' engagement. Yet, no known U.S. studies have directly focused on the associations between paternity leave-taking and children's reports of father-child relationships. Understanding the potential consequences of paternity leave-taking in the United States is particularly important given the lack of a national paid parental leave policy. The present study uses five waves of data on 1319 families, largely socioeconomically disadvantaged, from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to analyze the associations between paternity leave-taking and 9-year-old children's reports of their father-child relationships. We also assess the extent to which these associations are mediated by fathers' engagement, co-parenting quality, parental relationship satisfaction, and fathers' identities. Results indicate that leave-taking, and particularly 2 weeks or more of leave, is positively associated with children's perceptions of fathers' involvement, father-child closeness, and father-child communication. The associations are explained, at least in part, by fathers' engagement, parental relationship satisfaction, and father identities. Overall, results highlight the linked lives of fathers and their children, and they suggest that increased attention on improving opportunities for parental leave in the United States may help to strengthen families by nurturing higher quality father-child relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the industrial revolution, new business lines and work areas emerged in the world for both men and women. With this formation, the number of men and women involved in the work area increased. Furthermore, with the increase in the level of education, the literacy rate of both men and women increased, and in parallel with this, both men and women gained more place in working life and in various business lines. This change was more significant in women. Women, who only cared for children and did housework such as cooking and cleaning in earlier times, started to take part in various business lines and service areas with this change. With the participation of women in working life in our changing and developing society, it became inevitable for fathers to take responsibility for childcare. The most significant consequence of this change is the fact that fathers take responsibility for childcare and spend more time with their children. The participation of the father in the care is very important in meeting the bio-psycho-socio-cultural needs of the child and in meeting the child's need for play. Moreover, when fathers' participation in childcare is considered as a process, it is very beneficial and important for the mother and the family both in the short term and long term. As a matter of fact, the results of numerous studies on the changing and developing role of the father and fatherhood show how important and beneficial it is for the father to participate in care. The aim of this review is to give information about father's participation in care and its benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's perceptions are important to understanding family environment in the bipolar disorder (BD) high-risk context. Our objectives were to empirically derive patterns of offspring-perceived family environment, and to test the association of family environment with maternal or paternal BD accounting for offspring BD and demographic characteristics. Participants aged 12–21 years (266 offspring of a parent with BD, 175 offspring of a parent with no psychiatric history) were recruited in the US and Australia. We modeled family environment using latent profile analysis based on offspring reports on the Conflict Behavior Questionnaire, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, and Home Environment Interview for Children. Parent diagnoses were based on the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies and offspring diagnoses were based on the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children. Latent class regression was used to test associations of diagnosis and family environment. Two-thirds of all offspring perceived well-functioning family environment, characterized by nurturance, flexibility, and low conflict. Two 'conflict classes' perceived family environments low in flexibility and cohesion, with substantial separation based on high conflict with the father (High Paternal Conflict), or very high conflict and rigidity and low warmth with the mother (High Maternal Conflict). Maternal BD was associated with offspring perceiving High Maternal Conflict (OR 2.8, p = 0.025). Clinical care and psychosocial supports for mothers with BD should address family functioning, with attention to offspring perceptions of their wellbeing. More research is needed on the effect of paternal BD on offspring and family dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have shown that children's temperamental characteristics impact the quality and quantity of parent–child interactions. However, these studies have largely focused on middle‐class samples, have not compared multiple domains of parenting across mothers and fathers, and have not considered the possibility of nonlinear associations between temperament and parenting. The present study addresses these gaps by examining the potentially nonlinear role of two temperamental characteristics—negative emotionality and sociability—in predicting the quality and quantity of low‐income mothers' and fathers' parenting. Data were drawn from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, a study of low‐income children and families. Results indicated that whereas parenting quality was somewhat impaired when children were temperamentally vulnerable (low sociability, high negativity), parents increased parenting quantity with the same vulnerable children. There was some evidence that parents were most reactive to children who scored either very high or very low on negative emotionality and sociability in both parenting domains. Patterns also suggest that mothers were more reactive to sociability, and fathers to negative emotionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To examine the association of father early engagement behaviors and infant low birth weight (LBW) among unmarried, urban couples. Methods Participants were from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth-cohort study of urban families. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from interviews with unmarried mothers and fathers (N = 2726) that took place at the time of their child’s birth. Early engagement behaviors were based on fathers’ self-report of whether during the pregnancy they gave mothers money to buy things for the baby, helped in other ways like providing transportation to prenatal clinics, and attended the birth. Results Most (68.9%) fathers engaged in all three early engagement behaviors; 22% engaged in 2 behaviors; and 9.1% engaged in 1 or 0 early engagement behaviors. LBW more than doubled when comparing infants of fathers who engaged in all three early engagement behaviors (9.6% predicted probability of LBW) to those fathers who engaged in no early engagement behaviors (over 22% predicted probability of LBW). Conclusion Infant and maternal health may benefit from intervention to encourage positive father engagement during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the correlates of nonresident fathers' involvement, particularly the association between involvement and fathers' economic status is important for improving child well-being. However, previous research has produced mixed results. Using data from the longitudinal Survey of Wisconsin Works Families ( N  = 828), and administrative records that improve the accuracy of measuring economic status, this study revisits the relationship between fathers' earnings and father-child contact, while controlling for whether the father has children with multiple partners. Using logistic regressions and lagged dependent variable analysis, we find that low earnings are to some extent a barrier to nonresident fathers' involvement with their nonresidential child. When predicting contact at least once a year we find a consistent and significant association between earnings and contact. In contrast, when predicting frequent contact, earnings were not statistically significant once previous contact was controlled. We conclude that fathers' earnings open the door for contact, as the models predicting contact once a year show. However, the frequency, after the initial contact, is better predicted by other variables. The results underscore the need to complement policy attempts to increase noncustodial father's involvement with policies aimed at improving father's economic status. Moreover, they highlight the importance of interventions that simultaneously work to enhance fathers' economic resources and relationship with the resident mother. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first case report in a country predominated by Chinese that describes the physical abuse of a recipient by the inducer in shared delusional disorder. The report describes a 42-year-old patient who physically abused her father until he submitted to her delusions. Subsequently and for years, both sustained persecutory delusions against their neighbours. While the patient was undergoing treatment, the father continued reinforcing her delusions. There is a need to explore the possibility of any forms of abuse of the recipient by the inducer in shared psychotic disorder. This report discusses the development of such delusions in a specific case and makes recommendations for the management of similar cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study it was aimed to reveal impact of the Father Training Program applied to the fathers with children attending the Pre-school education on the father-child relations. The father of the children who were showing a normal developmental phase attending the kindergartens runned by the Ministry of National Education in the centre of Kilis Province in Turkey have been included in this study (40 experimental and 40 control, totally 80 fathers). The study was conducted in experimental design with pre-test, post-test, retentivity control group. The fathers in experimental group received the Father Training Program once a week for twelve weeks. The fathers in control group were not given any training program at all. In the study, the scale called "The Scale for Parents -Child Relations- Father Form" adapted into Turkish by Uzun and Baran was used. Covariant analysis with one factor (ANCOVA) and t test are used to analyse the data. After the study, as a result of the educational program given, it was observed that there is statistically significant differences between the father's level of relations with their children in experimental group and the fathers in control group (p<.01). It is seen that the difference between average point of the pre-test-post-testretentivity of the fathers in experimental group (p>.01) is insignificant and that the effects of Father Training Program is still going on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the pathways through which fathers' warmth influences adolescents' grades. We investigated the positive beliefs of optimism and academic self-efficacy, and the motivational construct of determination, as possible mediators. Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 183 sixth-graders (78 male, 105 female) from low-income families: 133 Mexican Americans, 36 African Americans, 11 European Americans, and 3 other ethnicity. Multigroup SEM path analysis was used to test two path models and investigate variations in these models by adolescents' gender. Results revealed that, controlling for mothers' warmth, fathers' warmth predicts adolescents' positive beliefs and that these relations vary by adolescents' gender. For male adolescents, relations between fathers' warmth and English language arts grades are mediated by academic self-efficacy and determination to persist on challenging schoolwork. For female adolescents, relations between fathers' warmth and math grades are mediated by optimism and determination. These results demonstrate the unique contributions of fathers' warmth to their sons' and daughters' emotional and academic development. Our study suggests that counselors and educators may positively influence adolescents' well-being by encouraging fathers to communicate warmth and acceptance to their adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the relationship between parents' mental-state talk and preschoolers' executive function. Seventy-two children participated in the present study, as well as their mothers and fathers. When children were enrolled in the second preschool year, mothers' and fathers' use of mental-state references were assessed during a shared picture-book reading task with the child. Later, four months before admission to the first grade, preschoolers' executive function was measured. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that maternal, but not paternal, mental-state talk was a significant predictor of children's executive function composite, even after accounting for child gender, age, verbal ability, and parental education. When looking at each of the EF components, maternal mental-state talk proved to be a predictor of set-shifting whereas no significant relations emerged with inhibitory control or working memory. These findings add to prior research on parenting quality and executive function in preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent Theory of Activation Relation states that the paternal function of opening the child to the world is related to the development of its autonomy. We investigated the perception of 218 people without children, the majority (63.8%) women with a mean age of 21 years, about the paternal function of opening to the world for boys and girls by means of the Adapted for People with No Children of the Openness to the World Questionnaire. The data, analyzed by means of parametric statistical tests, pointed out that in the perception of this sample the father activates more boys than girls. However, the more one perceives that the father activates the boy, the more it is considered that the father activates the girl with less intensity. The male participants considered that the father significantly more frequently punished the boys compared to the perception of female participants. Therefore, it is concluded that in the perception of the participants the father activates boys and girls differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article aimed to analyze the relationship between father involvement with adopted children and family structure. Participated four fathers of children who were adopted until a year old. This qualitative research used as instruments a questionnaire and two semistructured interviews. It is verified that these fathers play, take care, talk, show affection and have leisure with their children. They also seek to be participants when they are available, and share some tasks and responsibilities with their wives, highlighting their role as providers of financial support. Concerning the family structure, harmonic or too narrow relationships predominate in the families. It is concluded that, in investigated families, fathers get involved with their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unintentional injury is an important cause of infant and child hospitalisation and parents play a key role in reducing children's risk-taking behaviour. Studies show that maternal and paternal parenting and supervision of children differ, but there is little research showing how fathers’ parenting may influence children's tendency to engage in risk-taking behaviour. Recent theoretical developments suggest that father's parenting may be particularly effective in encouraging safe risk taking. In this study, we examine how well parenting practices typically undertaken by fathers predict rates of children's injury risk at three years. Questionnaire data were collected from 46 fathers. Results show that both duration of rough-and-tumble play and fathers’ encouragement of perseverance predicted lower rates of injury behaviours, while their stimulation of risk taking predicted higher rates of injury behaviours. The results are discussed in the light of developmentally appropriate risk taking and fathering. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Inadequate parenting is an important public health problem with possible severe and long-term consequences related to child development. We have solid theoretical and political arguments in favor of efforts enhancing the quality of the early family environment in the population at large. However, little is known about effect of universal approaches to parenting support during the transition to parenthood. This protocol describes an experimental evaluation of group based parenting support, the Family Startup Program (FSP), currently implemented large scale in Denmark. Methods/design: Participants will be approximately 2500 pregnant women and partners. Inclusion criteria are parental age above 18 and the mother expecting first child. Families are recruited when attending routine pregnancy scans provided as a part of the publicly available prenatal care program at Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby. Families are randomized within four geographically defined strata to one of two conditions a) participation in FSP or b) Treatment As Usual (TAU). FSP aims to prepare new families for their roles as parents and enhance parental access to informal sources of support, i.e. social network and community resources. The program consists of twelve group sessions, with nine families in each group, continuing from pregnancy until the child is 15 months old. TAU is the publicly available pre- and postnatal care available to families in both conditions. Analyses will employ survey data, administrative data from health visitors, and administrative register based data from Statistics Denmark. All data sources will be linked via the unique Danish Civil Registration Register (CPR) identifier. Data will be obtained at four time points, during pregnancy, when the child is nine months, 18 months and seven years. The primary study outcome is measured by the Parenting Sense of Competence scale (PSOC) J Clin Child Psychol 18:167-75, 1989. Other outcomes include parenting and couple relationship quality, utility of primary sector service and child physical health, socio-emotional and cognitive development. Discussion: The protocol describes an ambitious experimental evaluation of a universal group-based parenting support program; an evaluation that has not yet been made either in Denmark or internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examine factors associated with positive stepfather–child ties during adolescence. [•] Results reveal substantial variability in stepfather–stepchild relationships. [•] Mother–child and mother–stepfather ties strongly predict stepfather–child ties. [•] Correlates of positive ties are similar by gender, race, and stepfamily duration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: to investigate the enunciative relationships which are established between parents and children who have risk factors for infant developmental problems, especially the effects of the risks during the language acquisition process. Methods: the sample consisted of study of three children who present risks for development, who were observed from 0 to 18 months through the Clinical Risk Indicators in Child Development, and through filmed samples with parents and children interaction. The data analysis considered the enunciative approach by Carmen Silva (2007, 2009) and the psychoanalytic approach. Results: by analyzing the three cases, it was possible to evidence that all of them presented difficulties of mother-baby separation, what reflected in the language semantization process, when the number of interlocutors became higher. However, the subjects evidenced the possibility of language semiotic domain, observing the three enunciative mechanisms proposed by Silva (2007). Conclusions: the study evidenced that the difficulties of mother-baby separation and the weak entrance of the paternal function have made the position of the children in the language more difficult, because the children are dependant of parents' speech for their own productions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify the description of the psychometric properties of measurement instruments of paternal involvement in scientific studies conducted between 2000 and 2012, as well as characterize the studies that used such instruments. We conducted a search in the websites BVS psi and APA PsycNET and we selected 15 papers for the analysis presented in this research. It has been found that the majority of studies provides a limited description about the psychometric instruments including the number of items, dimensions and scales, with special reference to Cronbach's alpha. We concluded that the description of the instruments available in the articles makes difficult the assessment about the validity and reliability of these. Moreover, the variety of instruments identified, the lack of standardization of some, as well as the use of non-specific instruments may indicate a deficiency regarding the quantitative means of evaluating the paternal involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Family-based intervention is essential for adolescents with behavioral problems. However, limited data are available on the relationship between family-based factors and adolescent internet addiction (AIA). We aimed to examine this relationship using a representative sample of Shanghai adolescents. Methods In October 2007, a total of 5122 adolescents were investigated from 16 high schools via stratified-random sampling in Shanghai. Self-reported and anonymous questionnaires were used to assess parent-adolescent interaction and family environments. AIA was assessed by DRM-52 Scale, developed from Young's Internet-addiction Scale, using seven subscales to evaluate psychological symptoms of AIA. Results Adjusting for adolescents' ages, genders, socio-economic status, school performances and levels of the consumption expenditure, strong parental disapproval of internet-use was associated with AIA (vs. parental approval, OR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.24-3.91). Worse motheradolescent relationships were more significantly associated with AIA (OR = 3.79, 95% CI: 2.22-6.48) than worse father-adolescent relationships (OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.10-2.80). Marital status of "married-but-separated" and family structure of "left-behind adolescents" were associated with symptoms of some subscales. When having high monthly allowance, resident students tended to develop AIA but commuter students did not. Family socialeconomic status was not associated with the development of AIA. Conclusions The quality of parent-adolescent relationship/communication was closely associated with the development of AIA, and maternal factors were more significantly associated with development of AIA than paternal factors. Family social-economic status moderated adolescent internet-use levels but not the development of AIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increased attention to the role of fathers within families, there is still a dearth of studies on the impact of trauma on father-involvement. This study investigates the quantity of father-involvement and the influence of posttraumatic stress on the quality of involvement in a refugee and asylum seeker population. Eighty refugees and asylum seekers and their young children (aged 18-42 months) were recruited. Measures included assessment of parental trauma (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire), quantity and quality of involvement (quantity of caregiving and Emotional Availability Scales), and perception of the father-child relationship (interview). The results show that fathers were less involved in caregiving tasks and play activities than mothers. No parental gender differences were found on each of the Emotional Availability Scales. Traumatic stress symptoms negatively affected the perception and the actual quality of parent-child interaction (sensitivity, structuring, nonhostility). Nevertheless, almost all fathers described their relationship with their child as good and their child as very important to them. As the quality of father-involvement is of importance to the development of the child, traumatized fathers are as much in need of clinical intervention as mothers. Despite the impact of posttraumatic stress, refugee fathers clearly are involved in the lives of their children. Mechanisms such as a deliberate withdrawal when stressed and compensation might enable affected fathers to step into the interaction when needed, raise the quality of involvement with their child, and diminish the negative impact of stress resulting from trauma and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable evidence suggests that fathers' absence from home has a negative short- and long-term impact on children's health, psychosocial development, cognition and educational experience. We assessed the impact of father presence during infancy and childhood on children's height-for-age z-score (HAZ) at 5 years old. We conducted secondary data analysis from a 15-year cohort study (Young Lives) focusing on one of four Young Lives countries (Peru, n = 1821). When compared with children who saw their fathers on a daily or weekly basis during infancy and childhood, children who did not see their fathers regularly at either period had significantly lower HAZ scores (−0.23, P = 0.0094) after adjusting for maternal age, wealth and other contextual factors. Results also suggest that children who saw their fathers during childhood (but not infancy) had better HAZ scores than children who saw their fathers in infancy and childhood (0.23 z-score, P = 0.0388). Findings from analyses of resilient children (those who did not see their fathers at either round but whose HAZ > −2) show that a child's chances of not being stunted in spite of paternal absence at 1 and 5 years old were considerably greater if he or she lived in an urban area [odds ratio (OR) = 9.3], was from the wealthiest quintile (OR = 8.7) and lived in a food secure environment (OR = 3.8). Interventions designed to reduce malnutrition must be based on a fuller understanding of how paternal absence puts children at risk of growth failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: the emotional bond between father and child is crucial in the transition to parenthood and the baby's development. Objectives: our intention was to verify if there is a relationship between sociodemographic variables, involvement in the pregnancy or cutting the umbilical cord with the emotional bond between father and baby. Methodology: we performed a cross-sectional, quantitative study, descriptive and analytical in nature. We administered a questionnaire and the Bonding scale, validated for the Portuguese population (Figueiredo et al., 2005), at three different times (during labour, on the 1st and 3rd days after birth) to 222 parents, between November 2010 and January 2011. Results: We found that age (between 25 and 40 years), accompanying the pregnant woman to appointments for pregnancy surveillance, monitoring of the pregnancy in preparation for the birth of the baby, reading information about the developing baby, involvement in the pregnancy and cutting the umbilical cord positively influence the emotional bond between father and baby. Conclusion: the results indicate an improvement in the emotional bond between father and baby if health professionals promote fathers' involvement during pregnancy and childbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the on-going social father in America has received increased attention in the last quarter century. In some quarters, the U.S. father has been viewed as supernumerary or optional. In other quarters, the U.S. father has been perceived to be essential to the optimum development of his children. Still other factions have been intermediate in the evaluation of the father status-role complex. It is suggested in this article that the sheer presence of an on-going biological & residential social father enhances his children's (minimal) education attainment by biasing his children's tendency to graduate from high school. His presence, rather than his employment status, seems to be the more potent variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paternal time spent caring for children alone is qualitatively different from time together mediated by the presence of the mother and may be particularly relevant to father-child relations. Many fathers spend minimal time alone with their children. Indeed, it is still commonly referred to as 'babysitting'. We explored the concept of Solo Care as a conceptually discrete dimension of father involvement. Fathers and mothers in families (n = 110) with children aged 3-12 years provided qualitative and quantitative data separately in a structured interview. Several variables were considered as potential correlates of Solo Care, with parental occupation and hours of work, perceived maternal support, perceived barriers and paternal efficacy and satisfaction proving significant. Themes describing fathering satisfaction included father-child bond, pleasure in watching children grow and father-child interaction. Important benefits of Solo Care were relationship-focused along with the opportunity to demonstrate equal competence and fathers' differences from mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 723) were used to test whether the effects of fathers' supportive parenting on children's school readiness are greater when mothers are least supportive. We distinguished between academic and social dimensions of school readiness. Mothers' and fathers' parenting was assessed in dyadic parent-child videotaped sessions during the preschool period. Results for both academic and social outcomes indicated that fathers' supportiveness had larger benefits for children at lower levels of mothers' supportiveness. In fact, fathers' supportiveness was associated with children's school readiness only when mothers scored average or below on supportiveness. Mothers' supportiveness was similarly associated with children's social school readiness when fathers scored average or below on supportiveness. However, mothers' supportiveness was associated with children's academic school readiness even when fathers scored above average on supportiveness. The results suggest that fathers may influence child development most as potential buffers against unsupportive mother parenting. Further research is needed to replicate these analyses in a less socioeconomically advantaged sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by a systemic ecological framework for father involvement, we investigate children's, mothers', and fathers' contributions to observed father-child interaction. Analyses of 586 married resident fathers, their wives, and a target first-grade child (participants in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care) demonstrate that an additive model of father involvement accounts for the quality of father-child interaction better than a model which focuses on only one component of the system. Father parenting beliefs, child language skills, child social skills, maternal employment, and dyadic mother-child interaction quality each additively and significantly contribute to positive father-child interaction. Father average income and education levels relate to dyadic interaction, but individual and family characteristics account for their effects. Moderational analyses resulted in a significant interaction between father parenting beliefs and child social skills, providing preliminary support for the systemic ecological assumption that father-child interaction is better understood in a model that is not only additive but also interactive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the possibility that mothers' and fathers' support are differentially moderated by personality-informed latent classes in predicting youth social initiative, therefore making contingent the previously detected pattern of fathers' support being more impactful than mothers' support with regard to this outcome. To test this, we conducted mixture model regression analyses (separately for boys and girls). Guided by prior research, we used the youth personality scales activity, openness, and fearlessness, along with mothers' and fathers' support, to index the latent class assignments from the mixture model. Results for both boys and girls suggested three classes of youth-apprehensive, easy-going, and spontaneous-that moderate the relationship between mothers' and/or fathers' support with social initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined associations between supportive coparenting and infant-mother and infant-father attachment security. Observed and parent-reported coparenting, and observed maternal and paternal sensitivity were assessed in a sample of 68 families with 3.5-month-old infants. Infant-mother and infant-father attachment security were assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure at 12 and 13 months of age, respectively. Observed and reported supportive coparenting were associated with greater attachment security in the infant-father, but not the infant-mother, attachment relationship. The link between observed coparenting and infant-father attachment remained after accounting for paternal sensitivity. Furthermore, child gender moderated some associations between coparenting and infant-parent attachment security. Amongst families with boys, observed and reported supportive coparenting were related to greater infant-mother and infant-father attachment security, respectively. Coparenting was unrelated to infant-mother or infant-father attachment security amongst families with girls. Results highlight a possible link between the coparental and father-child relationships and the need to consider both parent and child gender when examining associations between family functioning and attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the 2004 Monitoring the Future survey examined a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of 8th to 12th grade adolescents in rural and urban schools from across the United States (N = 37,507). Results found that drug use among daughters living with single fathers significantly exceeded that of daughters living with single mothers, while gender of parent was not associated with sons' usage. This distinction in adolescent drug use between mother-only versus father-only households is largely overlooked in contemporary studies. Factors responsible for variations in sons' and daughters' usage in single-parent families have important implications for future drug prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relations among parental depressive symptoms, overt and covert marital conflict, and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms were examined in a community sample of 235 couples and their children. Families were assessed once yearly for three years, starting when children were in kindergarten. Parents completed measures of depressive symptoms and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Behavioral observations of marital conflict behaviors (insult, threat, pursuit, and defensiveness) and self report of covert negativity (feeling worry, sorry, worthless, and helpless) were assessed based on problem-solving interactions. Results indicated that fathers' greater covert negativity and mothers' overt destructive conflict behaviors served as intervening variables in the link between fathers' depressive symptoms and child internalizing symptoms, with modest support for the pathway through fathers' covert negativity found even after controlling for earlier levels of constructs. These findings support the role of marital conflict in the impact of fathers' depressive symptoms on child internalizing symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a representative sample of U.S. children born in 2001, growth curve modeling was used to investigate the association between father-child involvement and the developmental status of the child. Three groups of children, which varied by timing of developmental delay diagnosis, were compared for father involvement trajectories. These groups of children were compared with each other as well as to a group of children without developmental delays. Group comparisons indicate many more similarities than differences, and implications for service providers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined involvement in children's learning among parents of 101 children between 8 and 12 years of age (53 parents of children with ADHD, 48 parents of children without ADHD). Compared to parents of children without ADHD, parents of children with ADHD reported lower self-efficacy in their ability to help their children, felt less welcome and supported by their children's schools and teachers, and perceived less time and energy for involvement in their children's academic lives. Mothers of children with and without ADHD reported similar types and levels of involvement behaviors in the home. Fathers of children with ADHD reported being more disengaged from their children's learning and using more coercive and punitive interactions regarding their children's achievement compared to fathers of children without ADHD. These findings underscore the difficulties in parent-supported learning practices and home-school collaboration initiatives faced by parents of children with ADHD and educators alike. Implications for school psychology practice are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To determine the utility of a parenting education program for fathers of infants, and to determine which fathers benefited. Design: Fathers' perceptions of the program's utility were captured in a brief, structured interview. Using secondary data analysis, pretest/posttest father-infant interaction scores of fathers who improved were compared with those of fathers who did not. Demographic predictors of improvement were identified using multiple regression. Sample: Community sample of 81 adult, English-speaking, primarily European Canadian, first-time fathers of 5-month-old infants, who participated in the intervention group of a randomized controlled trial. Intervention: When infants were 5 and 6 months old, videotaped self-modeling and positive feedback about father-infant interaction were provided by specially trained nurses. Measurements: Father-infant interaction was assessed at baseline (5 months) and outcome (8 months) using the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale. Results: Fathers found the program useful, indicating that their needs for educational programs are different from mothers. Controlling for baseline interactions, demographic variables did not significantly predict fathers' outcome interactions. Conclusions: The program may prove useful in public health settings where implementing programs for fathers of infants is a priority. Future research needs to explore other predictors to identify fathers who will benefit from the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Girls growing up in homes without their biological fathers tend to go through puberty earlier than their peers. Whereas evolutionary theories of socialization propose that this relation is causal, it could arise from environmental or genetic confounds. To distinguish between these competing explanations, the authors used a genetically and environmentally controlled sibling comparison design to examine the effects of differential exposure to family disruption/father absence in a community sample of sister pairs.' As specified by evolutionary causal theories, younger sisters had earlier menarche than their older sisters in biologically disrupted families (n = 68) but not biologically intact families (n = 93). This effect was superseded, however, by a large moderating effect of paternal dysfunction. Younger sisters from disrupted families who were exposed to serious paternal dysfunction in early childhood attained menarche 11 months earlier than either their older sisters or other younger sisters from disrupted families who were not exposed to such dysfunction. These data suggest that early exposure to disordered paternal behavior, followed by family disruption and residential separation from the father, can lead to substantially earlier menarche. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This systematic review aims to describe longitudinal evidence on the effects of father involvement on children's developmental outcomes. Methods: Father involvement was conceptualized as accessibility (cohabitation), engagement, responsibility or other complex measures of involvement. Both biological fathers and father figures were included. We searched all major databases from the first dates. Data on father involvement had to be generated at least 1 year before measuring offspring outcomes. Results: N = 24 publications were included in the overview: 22 of these described positive effects of father involvement, whereof 16 studies had controlled for SES and 11 concerned the study population as a whole [five socio-economic status (SES)-controlled]. There is certain evidence that cohabitation with the mother and her male partner is associated with less externalising behavioural problems. Active and regular engagement with the child predicts a range of positive outcomes, although no specific form of engagement has been shown to yield better outcomes than another. Father engagement seems to have differential effects on desirable outcomes by reducing the frequency of behavioural problems in boys and psychological problems in young women, and enhancing cognitive development, while decreasing delinquency and economic disadvantage in low SES families. Conclusions: There is evidence to support the positive influence of father engagement on offspring social, behavioural and psychological outcomes. Although the literature only provides sufficient basis for engagement (direct interaction with the child) as the specific form of ‘effective’ father involvement, there is enough support to urge both professionals and policy makers to improve circumstances for involved fathering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Because very little is known about the parenting of drug-abusing men, this study was designed to document ways that drug abuse contributes to compromise of responsible fathering. Design, setting, participants Generalized linear models and data representing different dimensions of responsible fathering were used to clarify ways that the fathering of 106 men receiving methadone maintenance treatment differed from that of 118 men living in the same community with no history of alcohol or drug abuse. Measurement Men who enrolled in the study completed two structured interviews and a battery of five self-report measures selected to document current and historical dimensions of responsible fathering. Findings When the opioid-dependent fathers were compared to the other fathers, there were significant differences in: (i) economic resources to support family formation; (ii) patterns of pair-bonding; (iii) patterns of procreation; and (iv) parenting behavior. When fathering of the youngest biological child was examined, the opioid-dependent fathers confirmed few differences in historical dimensions of fathering, but they reported significant differences in current dimensions reflecting: (i) constricted personal definitions of the fathering role; (ii) poorer relationships with biological mothers; (iii) less frequent residence with the child; (iv) less frequent provision of financial support; (v) less involvement in positive parenting; (vi) poorer appraisal of self as a father; and (vii) less satisfaction as a father. Conclusions The findings highlight ways that drug abuse contributes to compromise of responsible fathering, and they raise questions about ways that the drug abuse treatment system might better address parenting as a treatment issue for men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Few studies of parenting have considered the possibility that the association between one parent''s supportive parenting and a child''s early cognition is moderated by the other parent''s supportiveness. We test this proposition using a low-income sample of coresident couples. In addition, we cross-classify parents within couples according to their parenting behaviors to test for homogamy. Mothers and fathers were videotaped during separate free-play dyadic interactions with their 2-year-old child, and each parent''s behavior was coded according to six scales. K-means cluster analysis was used to describe each parent''s pattern of parenting behaviors. Parents were then cross-classified within couples by pattern. There was mixed evidence of homogamous parenting styles within couples. After parents were consolidated into four primary pairings, children in each of these pairings were compared on age 5 math and language scores. Children with two supportive parents scored highest, while those with two unsupportive parents scored lowest. Among children with one supportive parent, the sex of that parent was inconsequential. There were no significant interactions between maternal and paternal supportiveness on either math or language. Thus, it appears that in this low-income sample the combined effects of maternal and paternal supportiveness are additive. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite concerns about compromise of fathering as a public policy issue, very little is known about the status of drug-abusing men as parents. In this pilot study, 50 men enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment completed a structured research interview designed to generate basic information about patterns of pair bonding, reproduction, and paternal involvement. Descriptive analysis of these data highlighted a number of trends in the nature of fathering that, although at odds with popular stereotypes, were similar to trends noted in research conducted with other populations of disenfranchised men. Consistent with a developmental–ecological perspective on parenting, the findings suggest that historical and situational influences interact within this population to compromise socially responsible efforts to function as a parent. The results also raise questions about the extent to which public policy initiatives designed to promote more responsible fathering are reaching this population, and they highlight ways that the drug abuse treatment system might better support men interested in being a more effective parent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]